[Host, host—you're pregnant!]
Little Bun dropped a bombshell on Nina without hesitation.
"What did you say? You must've checked wrong, didn't you?"
Nina couldn't believe it. Just one night—how was that even possible? And hadn't the original host been tested and confirmed to have no fertility? There was no way she could be pregnant. The system had to be mistaken.
[Then I'll scan again.]
Little Bun ran another check. [Reverification complete. Host, you are indeed pregnant.]
Its voice was brimming with excitement. [Come on, come on—how about taking a look at our maternity-and-baby packages?]
"I only just… last night. How could you possibly detect it already? You're not even a reproduction system."
Even if it existed, it should still just be a single cell, right? Could it really be detected?
[Host, so you did do something naughty last night.]
Little Bun wore an obnoxious caught-you-red-handed expression as it continued, [As a system, of course we have some special functions. Host, you've been pregnant for eighteen hours already.]
Nina: ...
She'd heard of being eighteen weeks pregnant—but eighteen hours?
That only made her more convinced the system was spouting nonsense just to sell products.
Maybe it was the suddenness of it all that left her flustered. Deep down, she simply couldn't bring herself to believe it. She'd never even imagined something like this.
Little Bun quickly pulled up countless maternity product interfaces.
Nina felt increasingly unsettled. "I don't need any of that."
She exited the system space, swallowed the Recovery Pill, and prepared to return to Spirit Stone City.
Today was the day she was supposed to marry her beast husbands. She decided to hurry back and proceed with the wedding.
After being sent to Sin Beast City, Spirit Stone City probably no longer had room for her. A lone female surviving independently in the beast world was far too dangerous. For now, she needed beast husbands to protect her. Besides, she'd heard they were all incredibly handsome—she certainly wasn't losing out.
As for feelings, those could be cultivated slowly later. Starting with marriage and falling in love afterward wasn't impossible.
Females were rare in the beast world, so their status was relatively high, and they could take multiple beast husbands. However, females were physically weak and unable to hunt. With wild beasts, magical beasts, wandering beasts, and countless other dangers around, females needed males for protection and provision.
Marrying eight handsome husbands at once—now that was thrilling.
But why did the thought make her feel a little excited?
Nina covered her face, suppressing the unconscious upward curl of her lips. She glanced at the animal-skin skirts scattered on the ground and quickly identified her own. It was torn in several places, but still barely wearable. There were other pelts underneath, so it wasn't dirty.
She considered buying a new outfit from the system mall, but after a moment's thought, decided against it. There were still plenty of clothes back in Spirit Stone City—better to save her system credits for when she truly needed them.
System credits were the currency used for system transactions and could be exchanged for modern currency. Nina didn't yet know whether such an exchange was possible in the beast world. She decided to ask Little Bun in detail later; for now, getting back as quickly as possible was more important.
After picking up the clothes scattered on the ground and getting dressed, she immediately set off for Spirit Stone City.
When she reached the cave entrance, she was startled. The area outside was in ruins, with debris and remnants scattered about, as if a fierce battle had taken place.
What on earth had happened last night?
Nina surveyed her surroundings, confirmed there was no longer any movement, and didn't linger. She left at once.
Her luck wasn't bad. Along the way, she came across a small tribe and paid one of their flying beastmen to take her back to the city. That saved her a long journey on foot—otherwise, who knew how long it would've taken her to walk back on her own? She was afraid that by the time she returned, her beast husbands might already have married someone else.
Especially her vicious younger sister—she would definitely take advantage of the situation.
The system did have items that allowed for rapid transport, but they were expensive and required high-level VIP access. Back when she'd been saving up to buy a house, she'd kept her spending low, and her system level simply wasn't high enough.
Upon arriving in Spirit Stone City, as she made her way back to the City Lord's residence, beastmen along the road pointed at her disheveled appearance, whispering and gossiping among themselves.
"Hey, isn't that our Princess Nina? Why does she look like that?"
Princess Nina was her title—a traditional honorific denoting noble status. In this city, the City Lord was equivalent to a king; his daughters were called princesses, his sons princes, and his female consort the Queen Female.
"Don't you know? Everyone in the city's saying she went to Sin Beast City yesterday," another beastman said, his eyes full of mockery and disdain. "She must've been fooling around with those criminal beasts and wandering beasts. Just look at her clothes—played so hard they're torn to shreds."
"No way—she's fallen that low?" a female chimed in, deliberately covering her mouth in exaggerated shock. "Even if no males in the city want her, she didn't have to go throwing herself into Sin Beast City, did she?"
"But doesn't she have eight handsome, powerful fiancés?" someone else asked. "Why would she still go to Sin Beast City?"
"Fiancés?" a male sneered. "Do you really think those handsome, powerful males would be willing to touch an ugly freak like her? She was probably afraid she'd be left a widow in all but name after marriage, so she decided to have some fun beforehand. Only the beasts in Sin Beast City are that undiscriminating—even someone like her is acceptable to them."
"She really is ugly, though. But why isn't she wearing her mask today?"
"She probably gave it to her lover in Sin Beast City."
"Some females are just that lewd—can't survive without males. Even Sin Beast City doesn't disgust them."
"How can our city have a princess like this? She's completely disgraced Spirit Stone City."
In the hearts of beastmen, criminal beasts and wandering beasts ranked even lower than slaves. A female consorting with them was considered utterly despicable.
The beastmen inside the city all looked at Nina with eyes full of contempt and disgust.
They didn't even bother to avoid her when speaking—if anything, it was as though they were deliberately saying those words for her to hear.
Nina knew Lina would spread what happened yesterday. She also knew exactly what she'd be facing upon her return. Although she'd prepared herself mentally, the malicious slander still made her frown despite herself.
She couldn't explain—no one would believe her even if she tried. So she pretended not to hear a thing and continued walking forward. Just then, a strange female rushed out and blocked her path.
The female spat at her feet. "Pah! You've brought shame to all of us females. You're not worthy of being our princess, and you don't deserve to stay in Spirit Stone City."
Other beastmen immediately echoed her words, surging forward.
"That's right! You're the disgrace of Spirit Stone City—get out of Spirit Stone City!"
"Get out of Spirit Stone City!"
"Get out of Spirit Stone City!"
...
The voices grew louder and louder, and more and more beastmen joined in. They blocked Nina's path, even shoving her, trying to force her out of the city.
She hadn't expected things to turn this extreme. Protecting herself carefully so she wouldn't be knocked over, she tried to move toward the City Lord's residence—but she couldn't advance even a single step.
The beastman who had escorted her back was also frightened by the scene and immediately regretted bringing her here. He'd only wanted to earn some payment, not get dragged into trouble.
Because beastmen from outside the city weren't allowed to fly within the city limits, he'd entered on foot alongside her, intending to go to the City Lord's residence with her to collect his fee.
Hearing the commotion, the guard squad rushed over.
When they saw Nina, they said expressionlessly, "Princess Nina, the City Lord is waiting for you."
It was as though she'd just seen her saviors. Nina followed closely behind them.
The crowd didn't dare confront the guards head-on—their strength was well known—so they reluctantly parted to make way.
At last, Nina made it safely back to the City Lord's residence.
The moment she stepped into the main hall, the first person to greet her was her vicious younger sister, wearing the smug, triumphant look of someone whose poisonous scheme had succeeded.